NEXIM RENEWS COMMITMENT TO WEST AFRICAN MARKETS

The Managing Director of Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Roberts U. Orya  at  the   just   concluded annual conference of the Borderless Alliance tagged 'Connecting Markets', held in Accra, Ghana, reaffirmed the commitment of Nigeria to removing trade barriers and promoting seamless commercial exchanges among ECOWAS member states.

The bank's head of corporate communication, Mr. Chinedu Moghalu, said  in  a  statement   made   available  to  LEADERSHIP   that   the Borderless  Alliance fosters change by bringing to light trade inefficiencies throughout the region, adding that through the work of its partners, it undertakes research to find out the most paralysing obstacles to producers, traders, buyers and investors with the findings and data published as a way to pressure decision makers to change policy to help develop their economies.

The   statement   noted   that   in   the   keynote address   delivered  at  the  event entitled, 'Improving Investment Climate Through Effective Movement of Goods and Persons in West Africa', Mr. Orya    lauded  the partners of the alliance and   the initiative of the ECOWAS Commission targeted at creating an enabling environment to attract investment within the Region.

'Such frameworks that espouses common investment market initiatives such as the ECOWAS Investment Policy Framework (IPF) are designed to nurture and facilitate the creation of a healthy business environment that would be attractive to all investors as well as foster the pursuance of effective key investment policy, investment promotion and facilitation; Trade Policy; Tax policy and Corporate governance,' Orya   said  in  the  statement.

According to him, notwithstanding the good intendment of the IPF and other frameworks targeted at free trade within the sub-region, facilitating free movement of goods, persons and capital as well  as macroeconomic policy convergence, have not worked as satisfactorily.

Orya said, 'To achieve the desired progress, the ECOWAS community needs to enhance their commitments to improving the operations and processes of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) and ECOWAS Road Transit Scheme (ISRT).

and as a matter of urgency invigorate implementation of the macroeconomic policy convergence and policy harmonization.